Faction Expanding Reach

[Kallous]

“Excellent.” Kallous said as he prepared to make the proposal. He’d delivered the veiled threat, and he had told the man that he didn’t want to take any money from him. Now for the last part, if he did this right and he could get this agreement, then he’d be well on his way to establishing a base of operations and a smuggling route for the Diarchy to use through Nar Shadda.

“As you can see, I’ve evicted all of the unwanted gangs in the area. And that puts us in the center of a power vacuum. One I intend to fill. Fill with legitimate businesses that cannot be realistically bullied by some petty thugs looking to make easy money. I’d like you to help me bring all of the clubs in the area into one coalition. Effectively, I want our two businesses to merge, and to absorb all the others around us. Ensuring greater profits, and greater security for all involved. And as one intimately familiar with running these sorts of establishments, I imagine you would do wonderful work ensuring all of the ones we control do their jobs correctly. Meanwhile I would of course work to ensure the safety of our little company against the underground threats that might seek to endanger our business.”

Of course, he was making sure to look the man in the eye while he made this offer. Letting him see that this was going to be profitable for him. But it wasn’t an offer. It was a command. He would do this, or there would be consequences.

Kallous had plans that couldn’t be met with resistance that wasn’t punished. He wouldn’t fail here.

 

[Serrin]

TAG: Kallous

The Squid Boss had wished this Sith or whatever he was had taken his installment, for what he proposed was far worse, A Coalition, in which now all the Clubs would be under the grip of this man. The Qu'rran let out a deep sigh, a betrayal of how he truly felt and he knew this Man would notice. He had to make a decision, to survive submit or find himself where the gangs were now, at the bottom of the sewer. He thought about all his staff, including Serrin and said,
"So be it. We shall have a coalition, and I will help with smoothing things over with the other club owners."
He was terrified, it seemed that he had just lost his Club, though he was being elevated, he was no fool, he was working on borrowed time.
"I only have one request, that my staff, particularly the Girl, our Star be kept safe.. I am asking for your word on that.. she is a good girl and I do not want any harm to come to her. Not that I am implicating you would harm her, just the vacuum as you say you intend to fill is going to be rife with danger."

Meanwhile, Serrin was now out of her scaly get up and tail fin. She let her pale bare feet touch the fine rug of red and orange, feeling it with her toes, all of which ached. Coming in was a girl who offered her a tray of food and a drink. She gave a smile as she reclined in her chain with only a covering at her breasts and waist, as if she was ready to go to a beach. The Nightsister was so tired, and there she saw the shrimp on skewers, she could really go for some real beef, but beggars could not be choosers. So she took it up and ate some of the fresh prawns, and began to think of Dathomir, wondering how the covens were fairing. She let out a sigh, when there was a knock at the door, one of working girls said,
"Hey Ser, The Boss needs you to stay after hours, he has something to tell you."
Looking up at her said.
"Alright, is everything ok?"
The Girl made one of those fake smiles, the kind that Serrin was use to making in clubs, that were to mask the truth. She getting up said,
"Is the Boss in his office?"
The Girl said,
"Yes.. but he is occupied."
Serrin took a fine red dress and threw it on, adjusting, so that she looked ready for a ball, only she put no shoes on, she went barefoot and came to the officer where she saw him.. that Dark Man, not in complexion, but in his presence, who had taken over the last club she was at. She gave knock with her pale knuckles on door and said,
"Boss.. you wanted to see me?"
The Q'urran stood up, he was use to her doing this,
"My Star! We were just talking about you.. um... please it would be better if you came back later."
Serrin walking past looking at the man with an hint of anger in her eyes,
"What is going on?"
The Squid Boss responded,
"I believe you have met Kallous."
She nodded,
"What does he want?"
The Qu'rran sighed, his four tentacle mandibles wiggling,
"Serrin.. that is no way to treat a guest.."
She turned to face him and said,
"Was it not enough for you to take over The Dancing Sarlaac? Have you come to take this one too?! How much money do you need? Is there no limit to your avarice?!"
The Squid Boss placing his hand on her shoulder said,
"Enough! Serrin.. please go back to your dressing room and I will talk with you shortly."
Serrin walking past Kallous paused,
"If you mess this place up too.. I will call my sisters on Dathomir and we will play Hunt with our rancors! And you will be the prey!"
The Boss shouted,
"Enough! Go now!"
Serrin slammed the door and headed back down to the dressing room, where sitting down she crossed her pale and beautiful arms and said,
"Sith! I mean the other word!"

 

[Kallous]

“Of course. I have no intention to do them harm. And I will give them all the protection I can provide. You have my solemn word.” Kallous assured the man, he was many things but he was not a liar. If he gave his word he would follow through with it. No harm would come the the man’s employees.

Kallous watched Serrin step in and when she went on her tirade he couldn’t help but give an amused smile. She was certainly spirited. “Don’t worry Serrin I have no intention to lord over you like a petty Tyrant. You will work for me only tangentially. You will still be under your friend here, and your life will go on unchanged. I am simply working to make this place safer and more profitable for all involved.”

A half truth, he had an ulterior motive but he wasn’t lying, and she would be able to sense that. His ulterior motive wasn’t profit either, it was something altogether different. Perhaps even less harmful than profit would be.

 

[Serrin]

While she want on her rant, The Sith adressed her, and mentioned he would not be a Tyrant, at this she scoffed, the whole role of a Sith was being tyrannical. There even was one called Darth Tyranus once, who actually nearly wiped out her people.
"Tangentially.. what does that mean? I do not trust a thing you are saying! I left your Club to start over and here I am under your heel again!"
She crossed her arms and said,
"So you saying my Boss is now a puppet.. are you alright with this arrangment Boss?"
The Squid Head sighed, he could no more hook and rein in The Nightsister than a Firaxen Shark.
"Serrin.. please.. the more you protest.. the harder this is. We have to do what is mutually beneficial. Kallous has in good faith gotten rid of gangs that have extorted us for decades, and now he is going to increase our revenue ten fold. I cannot carry on as I did my dear."
Listening to his voice it was clear to her what was happening, and she had to think of the other girls, the Club itself, and him, who had taken her in. It was irony that she had gone to so much trouble to be escape the grip of this Sith only to swim right into the pool he now claimed as his own. She was tired of running at the moment, and to survive she had to bend some principle, that was what people like her were forced to do.
"Alright boss.. I understand and will not cause any trouble with this transition." Looking at Kallous she said with a force nod,
"Thank you for your help with the gangs." She nearly bit his lip with pretending to be thankful, but she had to do it, she had to think of the Club.

 

[Kallous]

"I mean I won't be directly controlling your workplace. I'll be coming by every now and then to check in and see how things are going, but I'm not going to be micro-managing this place. Everything will remain the same for you. Maybe I'll come up with an offer for one of you sometime later when the opportunities arise, but for now, all I'm doing is securing the safety of all who throw their lot in with me." Kallous assured her. "Besides, knowing what I know about your people, you should be able to detect lies from me. Do you sense any malice when I speak? Any deception at all?"

Kallous had once been a very impatient man, before his tutelage under Diarch Rellik who had taught him the values of patience and careful thought as opposed to his prior ways of brute force and ignorance. So he knew not to push his luck right now. She could be a valuable asset if she could be convinced to work with him, but that would take some time, and some effort on his part. Effort that he needed to focus elsewhere for the time being. So for now he would simply have to make good on his promises, which he fully intended to anyway, and further his mission here.

The first step was already coming along really well. All he needed to do now was begin building up transportation networks and storage facilities under his new nightclubs. The Diarch had a need of a number of materials for his experiments, and the Diarchy as a whole needed a few more avenues to acquire resources that were scarce in their sector of space. So this smuggling route that he was supposed to establish would accomplish both goals, as well as provide him some additional revenue for his own goals. As long as everything went well, it was upsides all around.

As long as the law didn't find out about this. Because his reputation as a Sith might scare off most of his competitive peers in the underground, but an entire planetary government would be a far more challenging issue.

"you are most welcome." He told her with a smile. "And you can count on my protection from this day onward. I will always defend my own."

Serrin

 

[Serrin]

Serrin listened as he made the same promises, that this would not interfer, that nothing had changed, the same blah blah of a take over. She had to just nod, and appear as if she was going along with this. Then he made an assumption about "her people," Witches of Dathomir, which drew a curious look from her, did he really have the gaul to talk about The Dathomiri and how they operate. He did, and it made her crack a smile, which she surmised her would think was some sort of approval, when it was quite the opposite. She felt compelled to respond,
"Us Witches are very perceptive you are correct about that.. we can see through many things, especially the smoke of those imitating greateness."
Ball busting was a major past time on Dathomir, Nightsisters kept the Brother in check by making them understand their place, and she was employing that here.

He then offered her protection, which made her almost burst out laughing. In her experience those of his kind tended to draw destruction and altercations to every place they stepped. So the notion that he could protect her, when he could not likely protect himself was comical to her. But it was that last word he used, "my own," that made her a little unsettled, was she his property? Deciding to cause some more tension she said,
"So am I your property? Your Witch to jump at your beck and call? Dance here and do that?"
She eyed him as she said this with a smirk, it was meant to challenge him, and in front of the Boss, who she could tell was growing ever nervious during this exchange. She had to speak up, because she knew the Qu'rran would not.

TAG: Kallous

 

[Kallous]

Kallous was rapidly growing tired of this girl's standoffishness. He sighed, "If that is what it takes."

"Listen here girl, I didn't come here to pick fights I didn't need to. But rest assured that if you show yourself to be an issue I will not hesitate to deal with you accordingly. Now, if you want to see yourself as a slave be my guest, it's all the same to me. Just be a good girl and do as your told and nothing bad will happen. We can move on with our lives, move forward into brighter futures where we all prosper. Or you continue to be disruptive and irritating, and you can be put down so the rest of us can move on unimpeded. This is your one and only warning. My patience with you has eroded, do not test me further."

He waited a moment to see if she would respond, if she did not he would ask. "Do we have an understanding?"

TAG: Serrin

 

[Serrin]

Serrin was amused by his transformation, there it was.. that fire the Sith all had, and now it could be seen. In truth she probably had tested his patience, Nightsisters often rubbed men wrong because they did not respect men, it was part of their culture on Dathomir. However, Serrin had spent time in company of men when she served Lilastre Order, and back then she had such a gentleness to her nature, which had mostly evaporated since going through the tribulations she had faced. Drawing close to him, her bosom coming close, she stretching out her her pale gray white hands towards his face as she said,
"There it is.. that flame I knew was lurking beneath your sweet pleasentries. You need to understand something @Kallous," her tone at first was playful, but when she said his name it became very serious, "We Nightsisters are this way with all men. It is a habit that I find harder to quell since life has thrown me some real curves.." She then stepped away from him and said in an almost contrite voice,
"I cannot promise I will not be disruptive, what I will say is that seeing this side of you has earned a measure of respect from me. I needed to see it.. to see the flame you cannot see, just as mine burns ever green." Her hand made a fire rise in its palm as she looked at Ichor and then back at him with those eyes,
"I hope your promises of a better future pan out.. I really do, I have grown very tired of scrapping by and fighting so hard only to find what others said would last doesn't. It was easier when I was younger and I had naive googles on about the galaxy."
She paused for a moment in thought, her failures on Dathomir began to flood her mind as her face became even more grim, she then turned her eyes to fix on Kallous once more,
"I promise to try.." with that she gave a real bow, not one she had done in a mocking way, this was genuine, and The Qu'rran opened his mouth as if gasping, astounded that Serrin was actually acquiescing. His face was testament to how vulnerable she had been suddenly after all that verbal tilting. He only hoped that it was enough to make this New Boss feel appeased, he was not sure how he would handle his prized dancer being dragged off and put into slavery.

 

[Kallous]

"I suppose that will have to do." Kallous said, reeling his irritation in. He had learned much that the Sith didn't teach. One of which was the value of temperance, and his practice, willing or otherwise, of showing mercy to those who deserved it, and even some who didn't, brought him back down to a calm mindset. His pleasant smile returning to his face when the woman backed down. "Though I recommend you get that habit of yours under control. It is liable to land you in hot water."

He returned his attention to the Qu'rran, "With that my business is concluded for now. I have a few more cubs to meet with tonight to get this little union of ours well and truly established. I will be sending word soon, and once we have the full count of our soon-to-be compatriots, I will arrange a meeting for us all to discuss the particulars of our collective future. Farewell."

With that Kallous gave a shallow bow to the Qu'rran and left the club. He had a few more vassals to collect.

Tag: Serrin